{"id":67181,"date":"2019-06-05T14:51:26","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T13:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=67181"},"modified":"2019-06-05T14:51:26","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T13:51:26","slug":"osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Osun, economic summit is serious business!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/strong><\/p>\n

abiodun KOMOLAFE<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a few days\u2019 time, Osun will be organising an Economic and Investment Summit to \u201credirect and recommend strategies which will drive meaningful youth employment, enhance food security, agricultural development, activate mining prospects and boost tourism potentials\u201d<\/em> of the state.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, while a summit of this nature and relevance is auspicious, especially, at a time revenue accruing to the state is said to be having excruciating strains on the finance profile and obligations of the state, the fact of the matter is that governance globally is a serious business and not a glamorous show of the circus! As should be expected, Economic Summits are for the egg-heads: focused, serious-minded, goal-getter people with proven track records in the society. They are not done for crass reasons or merely to facilitate \u2018jeunjeun\u2019 <\/em>rendezvous for the boys! Besides, economic realities in the global market and how they have affected Nigeria have taken governance and economic issues beyond how to create wealth alone. They also include, if not more importantly, how to judiciously appropriate scarce resources!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Osun, like most states in Nigeria, is cruising through trying times financially, and all eyes can see it! There is palpable inefficiency in every sector of the domestic economy and it cuts across board. With a population that is aggressively climbing towards 5m, to say that Osun is yet to attain the majesty of its economic potential, despite the abundance of resources available to it, is certainly a misnomer. The truth is: it has not even taken-off! So, what exactly is this seeming endless ritual about and what does it hope to achieve to ensure that Osun does not sink?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For this writer, there are big issues on ground to be addressed for any summit of the shape and size being contemplated by the state to be meaningful. So, it will do the organisers a great deal of good if they focus their attention more on the ball, not to embellish it with a diet of tricks that will only end up portraying the participants as being busy for the sake of being busy, signifying, and achieving nothing! The summit should generate ideas and bring up recommendations which will help government reduce deficit and put smiles on the faces of the private sector operating in the state.\u00a0Its beauty should be something that speaks eloquently to the economic self-sufficiency of the state, interrogate poverty reduction issues, catalyse sustainable development and proactively address topical issues like entrepreneurship, economic growth and foreign direct investment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To be honest with posterity, Osun has its peculiarities. It is agro-based! Though the state has in recent history moved from a public service economy back to its rightful place as an agricultural state, that does not mean it should practically go to sleep. No! The gospel of development doesn\u2019t work that way! Essentially therefore, the proposed summit must come up with lasting strategies that can support partnerships in agriculture and guarantee investments in food security. In a state where 70% of its population are farmers, it is desirable that Osun contributes meaningfully to Nigeria\u2019s exit from the comity of \u2018high rate of unemployment\u2019 nations of the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mining is one of the world\u2019s fastest growing sectors. Unfortunately, its development in Osun has become an object of platitudes and abandonment. Now that the government is talking about encouraging, attracting and establishing light manufacturing industries in the major sectors of the economy, mining is one sure way to go, particularly, taking into consideration its labour-engaging capacity. Mpumalanga (South Africa), Dingi-Dongi (Indonesia) and Toronto (Canada) have shown that the economic impact of mining transcends the realm of mineral extraction and processing. But then, this mining stuff has to be real, especially, now, that Nigeria\u2019s unemployment rate stands at 26%.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next on the list is the Land Use Charge<\/em>. Of course, the Surveyor-General has a lot of work to do in this area. The unseen hand driving Land Use Charge<\/em> is principally tied to the dynamics of the domestic economy and the Demand and Supply profile of Land Use<\/em> in the society. An unreasonable charge and tax assessment will only portray the government as unreasonable, and the concocted charge as \u2018taxation without representation.\u2019 Fundamentally, urban renewal programmes have to be hinged on a development plan that will partition or re-partition the land parcels available to the state. It doesn\u2019t matter that this may cost the state a huge amount of money. The reality on ground is: if there is no money in Abeere<\/em>, there certainly can\u2019t be money in Osun!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Good that Osun has vowed to improve on its Internally Generated Revenue<\/em> (IGR) \u201cin ways that do not bring additional burden to the people.\u201d <\/em>But the truth no government wants to deal with is that people don\u2019t naturally wish to pay taxes; and for good reasons too! For the orientation to change, this government must be seen to be frugal, accountable, and seldom use public money on reckless experimentation in the guise of \u2018unproven\u2019 innovations. Furthermore, government should not deceive itself into thinking that whatever accrues into its pocket in form of IGR can provide the needed succour to the already-overburdened populace. The more reason it must strive to retain the people\u2019s confidence, principally, through commitment to policy statements and actions that will lawfully encourage a shore-up in the state\u2019s IGR.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Going by the abundance of resources available to the state, one can safely that the future of Osun lies in the Tourism and Travel sector. If properly harnessed, this sector is noted for bringing about policies and programmes that can promote the government and portray Osun as a tourism hub. But this is a nothing-ventured-nothing-gained investment. In other words, a government that fails to invest in Tourism should not expect to get anything in return.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Economic insecurity leads to animalistic instincts! This brings us to another area of interest: Estates and Home Making. While yours sincerely hopes to return to this important sector at a future date, it is perplexing that some 200 housing units are currently wasting away in a Federal Housing Estate in Osogbo while the principalities in government remain practically unsympathetic to the people\u2019s plight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Osun!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*KOMOLAFE writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (<\/em>ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

abiodun KOMOLAFE,<\/p>\n

O20, Okenisa Street,<\/p>\n

PO Box 153,<\/p>\n

Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By abiodun KOMOLAFE   In a few days\u2019 time, Osun will be organising an Economic and Investment Summit to \u201credirect and recommend strategies which will drive meaningful youth employment, enhance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\nOsun, economic summit is serious business! - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Osun, economic summit is serious business! - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By abiodun KOMOLAFE   In a few days\u2019 time, Osun will be organising an Economic and Investment Summit to \u201credirect and recommend strategies which will drive meaningful youth employment, enhance…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-05T13:51:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"203\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Osun, economic summit is serious business!\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-05T13:51:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/\"},\"wordCount\":1090,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles & Opinions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/\",\"name\":\"Osun, economic summit is serious business! - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-05T13:51:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg\",\"width\":220,\"height\":203},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Osun, economic summit is serious business!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Osun, economic summit is serious business! - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Osun, economic summit is serious business! - Pointblank News","og_description":"By abiodun KOMOLAFE   In a few days\u2019 time, Osun will be organising an Economic and Investment Summit to \u201credirect and recommend strategies which will drive meaningful youth employment, enhance…","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2019-06-05T13:51:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":220,"height":203,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Osun, economic summit is serious business!","datePublished":"2019-06-05T13:51:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/"},"wordCount":1090,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg","articleSection":["Articles & Opinions"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/","name":"Osun, economic summit is serious business! - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-05T13:51:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_20180731_231128_596-1.jpg","width":220,"height":203},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/osun-economic-summit-is-serious-business\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Osun, economic summit is serious business!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}